The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, considered this Friday that the work of the general dredging plan for the city will be the legacy that he will leave to the people of Lisbon, since it will be the largest of his mandate.
Carlos Moedas was speaking at the Paços do Concelho, in Lisbon, after the signing of the contract with the European Investment Bank for the last installment of 90 million euros of a framework loan of 250 million euros, granted within the framework of the Investment Plan for Europe, to improve urban regeneration in the city.
This contract represents a lot, today it represents making the invisible visible. There is a legacy that I will surely leave, which is to transform the invisible into the visible and this work is invisible in the eyes of the people, but it will be the largest work in Lisbon in our mandate”, said Carlos Moedas.
The mayor explained that the work will change Lisbon “at a depth of 70 meters”, so “people won’t get a chance to see this changethese five-meter-diameter tunnels that will prevent flooding from occurring.”
And he recalled the floods “so many times” experienced in the streets of Santa Marta and São José, in Alcântara or the center of Lisbon.
Carlos Moedas also highlighted that one of the things that the fight against the climate has, and “which is terrible for those who do it”, is that people do not realize what is changing in the context of the fight against climate change.
For his part, the vice-president of the EIB, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, said that “the loan of 90 million euros for the municipality of Lisbon will help the city fight against climate change and better prepare against severe weather events like floods and storms.”
“This financing from the European Union comes at a time when cities are facing several fundamental challenges and the European Investment Bank (EIB) is proud to be part of the solution, with visible and tangible benefits for the citizens of Lisbon today. , but also for future generations. ”, he added.
The Lisbon General Drainage Plan, with the execution period 2016-2030, will protect the city from the impacts of climate change, that is, prevent flooding and flooding, allow water reuse and reduce the bill for drinking water. the construction of two large tunnels is plannedone between Monsanto and Santa Apolónia and the other between Chelas and Beato, in a total investment of 250 million euros.
One of the tunnels will involve five shipyards, which will be on Avenida da Liberdade, Rua de Santa Marta, Avenida Almirante Reis, Santa Apolónia and Campolide.
Carlos Moedas also said at the event that the works “will cause inconvenience” to the people of Lisbon, but he hopes that “it will be as little as possible.”
The Lisbon City Council’s proposal for contracting a loan of up to 90 million euros from the European Investment Bank, exclusively applicable to the General Sanitation Plan, was approved this Tuesday at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, having been possible with 72 votes in favor and one vote against the only deputy from the PPM, Gonçalo da Câmara Pereira, and two absentees, Margarida Penedo (CDS-PP) and Francisco Peres (PSD).
The contract is for “exclusive application to the General Sanitation Plan”, namely, the execution of two of its structuring works, the Monsanto-Santa Apolónia tunnel, about five kilometers long and 5.5 meters in diameter, and the tunnel Chelas — Beato, about a kilometer long and with the same diameter, “in a solution designed to solve, between 70% and 80%, the risks of flooding in the city of Lisbon and, therefore, with a strong impact on the resilience of the city and the protection of its inhabitants and future generations”, reads the proposal of the chamber.
Source: Observadora
